With individual and team successes aplenty, Columbia men’s soccer star Steve Sirtis etched his name in the record books in the early 1980s and helped propel the men’s soccer team to unparalleled heights.

Over the course of his four years on the varsity squad, Sirtis led the Lions to four 10-win seasons and back-to-back undefeated and untied marks in Ivy League play. In total, the Lions went 52-8-8 overall during his four years on Morningside Heights and lost only two Ivy League matches.

In 1983, Sirtis was an integral part of the best Columbia men’s soccer team in history. He scored four goals and dished out a team-best 11 assists to help the Lions to an 18-1 record, the nation’s top ranking and a trip to the NCAA Championship match, a heartbreaking 1-0 double-overtime loss to Indiana.

Individually, Sirtis remains the all-time assist leader in the Columbia record books with 26, and holds marks for most assists as a first-year (eight) and is tied for the most assists in a season (11).

A four-time first team All-Ivy League selection and Ivy League Rookie of the Year in 1980, Sirtis earned consecutive Ivy League Player of the Year awards in 1982 and 1983, becoming only the second individual in conference history to earn the award in consecutive years.

Following graduation in 1984, Sirtis played professionally in Greece for more than a decade. He still lives there.